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Paul Frields on Fedora 12 and beyond

Two months after the launch of Fedora 12, we spoke to Paul Frields, Fedora Project Leader at Red Hat, about how this release has been received by the community, and what is in store for the next. Though it started as a technical discussion on what Fedora 12 offers IT admins and developers, it graduated into a more serious conversation on the relationship between Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and the distinction (if any) between commercial and community Linux.

What is the general sentiment amongst the team, two months after the launch of Fedora 12 — how has the community’s response been like, what are the hit features, and what are the ideas for further improvement that have come about?

Uptake of Fedora 12 has been very good overall. There have been a number of very visible improvements in free video drivers for ATI and Intel that make for a better experience out of the box. Those improvements allow users to make use of 3D effects on the desktop, as well as kernel mode setting for an attractive and smooth boot experience. The free Nouveau driver for NVIDIA cards has also greatly improved to allow kernel mode setting, and Fedora continues to contribute to moving that driver forward to support features like 3D.

A very visible set of features came with the fit-and-finish improvements in the user desktop. Menu cleanups, better icon spacing, a new notification engine, improved tooltips, consistent ordering of status icons, and a fresh and usable desktop background were just some of the improvements.

More in Tux Machines

‘Governments should have a free software policy’

Governments must have policies that increase their use of free and open source software solutions, says Professor Dr Wolfgang Finke from the Ernst-Abbe University of Applied Sciences in Jena (Germany). In many countries, the use of proprietary software might be unsustainable in the long-term, he says, “either from a technical or from a financial point of view.”

Linux Remote Desktop Roundup

Over the years I've found that a significant hurdle to getting family and friends to switch to Linux comes from its lack of familiarity. This is especially true when it comes to troubleshooting any issues. Obviously, when a malfunction occurs it's not always possible to be there in person.
However thanks to the wonders of broadband Internet and advanced software, we're now able to do the next best thing. In this article, I'll share some recommended remote desktop software for Linux. I’ll explore both open source and closed source solutions.

Android ski goggles offer augmented reality display

It runs Android on a 1.2GHz ARM CPU, and offers hands-free control.

Photoshop competitor Krita is a true creative tool -- and it's free and open source

Open source has some of the greatest tools, which continues to prove that you don't have to lock-down the code behind guarded walls to make a better product. Some popular open source products that don't have any match in the closed source world include Firefox, Chromium, VLC, Blender, Android, one gem that is, surprisingly, less known but extremely powerful when it comes to creating a work of art.

Hôtel proche de la clinique du Val d'Ouest

Firefox OS heading for Africa — and the U.S. too

Orange announced a $40 “Klif” Firefox OS phone for Africa, and Mozilla says it’s working with Verizon Wireless and others on Firefox OS feature phones.
There’s still no evidence that Mozilla’s HTML-focused Firefox OS has made much of a dent in the world smartphone market, where it has been focused on low-end devices sold primarily to emerging markets. Yet, Firefox OS still leads the way among upstart, Linux-based mobile operating systems, and will soon be available in more than 40 markets, this year, on a total of 17 smartphones, according to its latest stats. Meanwhile, the very first Tizen (Samsung Z1) and Ubuntu (BQ Aquaris E4.5) phones have only just shipped, and Jolla’s Sailfish OS based Jolla phones are still mostly limited to Europe.

Why large companies use open source ERP

The main reason larger companies use open source Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is because they are cheaper and easier to customize.